Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) allow users of computer systems to perform operating system functions and tasks with ease. For example, file navigation and organization are tasks that users need to perform with some regularity on a computer system, and these tasks are implemented in a graphical user interface through the display of icons and menus on a computer display screen. A typical implementation, as found in such operating systems as Microsoft Windows, Apple Computer's MacOS, etc., displays the contents of a directory or storage drive as a list of icons in a window, each icon representing a single file or other file object (such as a directory). File objects can be manipulated and accessed by clicking on and/or moving the icons with a cursor using a mouse or other pointing device. Folder icons can be displayed to indicate the presence of a directory, where files or folders may be stored “within” a folder and act as sub-directories under the directory; the sub-directories can be accessed by clicking on the folder.
When navigating lists of files and folders in current GUIs, a user must examine the entire file object contents of each directory or drive. This can be burdensome when the user desires to locate a particular file or folder in a location where there are a large number of file objects. Furthermore, the user may not want to display all of the file objects in other situations, such as, for example, to reduce a cluttered list of objects to only pertinent objects. In such situations, the user may know what types of characteristics he or she is looking for in the file objects. Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for allowing a user to easily and quickly display subsets of files and folders in a GUI based on one or more of several desired criteria. The present invention addresses such a need.